That's interesting. I've never seen it. Can you please post sources/quotes?
רמב"ן
אבני נזר ועוד בדעת הרמב"ם
IIRC it was r' moshe who said its a mitzvah קיומית, which is basically the same idea as mitzvah but not chiyuv.
in
@Dan article
The Rebbe: Any chassid who comes to ask about going to live in Israel, who isn't involved in education or in the rabbinate, is advised to go, and we give him our blessing for his move. The problem is for those who have vital roles in the community, and if they leave, everything will crumble. They are compared to ships' captains in stormy seas; the captain is always the last to abandon ship. First, he must save the passengers . . .
This is why Chabad never made it a thing to move. But if one isn't on shlichus, it's more a matter of culture than anything else.
And regarding visiting, which most people I know do without a question -
The Rebbe: If you would write to me a halachic responsa that according to Jewish law, I would be permitted to afterward return to the United States, not to abandon the Jews here, then I would evaluate the validity of the argument to see if it is indeed a proper conclusion according to Jewish law.